This was Book 2 in the series and it was much better the first one. The story had a smoother flow, with a completeness to the characters. They seemed to show emotions and play their tiny parts in solving the murder mystery.

The story by T. C. Wescott had the 3 sleuths, Lacy, Stax, and Ruby, trying to solve the 3 murders, two with an arrow, one with a knife along with the mystery of detecting the identity of the Lacy’s secretadmirer. Ruby was the brains in this trio while the others ran about like headless chooks, including the cops who allowed Ruby to steal the show with the final big reveal.

The plot was intricate, the murders seemed more complex, to the point that I felt the murderer really worked hard to set up the scenes of the murder. I was amazed at the hard work put in.

The book had a few niggles

The story was told with Lacy’s POV, yet she was not the main murder-solver. The main character just ranaround as per instructions. She did nothing much in this story, which was similar to the first book. I had more hopes from her in this book.

I like mystery within a mystery if it is connected to the main story. This had an escape room mystery where the trio had to solve clues and escape the room, which went on for pages, without it having a connection to the murder. I skipped those.

In the ARC I was given, the victim’s boyfriend’s name changed from Roger to Robert and then back to Roger. I was thoroughly confused.

Ruby’s private investigator did more work than the cops, but he was not a character in the book, just a reference.

I couldn’t bring myself to care about the rest of the characters in this town.

I would read this author’s books only for the murder and the big reveal at the end, the WHO, WHY, and HOW as that captured my imagination in being different from the usual ways of murder.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!!

Valentine’s Day is coming up and Lacy is single. If that’s not bad enough, she has a secret admirer. Is it the compassionate,haunted detective, the ruggedly handsome businessman, the suave maître de, the guy in her running group who likes to stare, or maybe someone who’s not on her radar?

During the Sweetheart Run through the town of Cedar Mill a fellow runner is murdered and a notorious burglar called the Black Cat is found dead with an arrow sticking out of him. Somehow these strange murders are connected to the ladies of Run For It – Lacy the divorcee, Stax the quirky bookseller, and Ruby the old-time mystery novelist. They’re back in a race against time to catch an invisible killer and exonerate an innocent man!

This book was okay for me… It could have been so much better, it was definitely weird that the main character does not show much brains in this series. I loved this author’s Slay Bells, that was cute and fun

Thank you so much Vishal… I really have no idea how I do that… My words come from my feelings when I read a book.
You are very kind to give me these words as compliments. Thank you. Today had been an off day for me and your words really helped to cheer me up. Thank you once again
Happy 2019

Hahaha… I felt I was in that escape room not knowing where this story was heading… That Roger and Robert made me so confused, I spent 15 min trying to decipher. I thought Robert was Roger’s brother… I think that was my query to you on Goodreads

With so many really good cozies out there, it is hard to justify time on a series where neither the first nor second book is captivating. Thanks for an in-depth review with enough information to let others decide for themselves.

These covers though 😀 Sorry this one didn’t work out so well. The boyfriend’s name thing sounds confusing but I hope it was corrected in the final editing. Great review, Shalini. I hope that you will enjoy your next read.

NIce, honest review as usual Shalini. The boyfriend’s name would bug me, but I sure hope it was caught in the final editing of the book. The main character not doing much and the story not told from her POV, that would bug me as well. Too bad this one didn’t work for you.